Woolsey Family Chronicles

What is new in the Woolsey 6 world? Well, first of all, Violet has a mullet. I call her Flo because she looks like she has an old lady hair do - you know, the kind that is dyed bright orange and is thinning but layered in the back to attempt to give it some volume. So, Flo it is. Violet is still climbing on top of the computer but now she knows how to get herself down so problem solved. I know at least five of my nine followers were up at night worrying about that one - Chris and I were not two of those five by the way since we can usually be found passed out with drool coming out one side of our mouth.

Preston continues to solve his sister's aggressive problem that they take out on him with a big manly bear hug. My boy is a lover not a fighter. He remains the only triplet of the bunch that hasn't hit or tried to maul their cousin Ronin. But when Preston went to give Ronin one of his bear hugs the other day Ronin turned to his mama in horror and whimpered a little.

Elsa continues to waver between clingy and totally fun party girl. You never know what you are going to get minute to minute. Elsa's new thing these days is "how big is Elsa" and she throws her arms up into the air with exuberance and we say "so big". I can tell right now that Elsa is going to be our little princess who knows how to get what she wants by batting her big brown eyes and flashing that toothy big smile at the world. She currently has her daddy and her Gramps wrapped around her finger.

On Tuesday Chris and I took all the kids, along with Molly, Nima and Ronin, to the Folsom Zoo for a little excursion. We brought along our new Choo Choo wagon which was great fun. We started with a park picnic and meandered into the zoo to check out some animals. Ava had fun pulling the choo choo wagon around and introducing the babies to those who showed even the slightest sign of interest. It was such a nice day and I always feel like a better mom when I get the babies out of the house and into the world to smell, touch, feel, and see all the interesting things around us. Elsa in particular enjoyed the monkeys while Preston really enjoyed taking a ride in the Choo Choo wagon. Violet found a renegade container of Gerber sweet potatoes in her wagon and she enjoyed chewing on that most of the trip.

Today was interesting because I had an appointment for the babies' to go in and have their one year doctor's visit. Chris was gone because the appointment escaped his work calendar and he had work in San Francisco. Kathy went with me and let me tell you, two people just didn't cut it for this visit. One person per baby would've been perfect because they are older and more aware of everything now. Violet was beside herself the minute we stepped into the office. That Violet is a smart one and not much gets past her (hmmmm, like someone else I know whose name starts with the letter A) and she cried like I have never seen Violet cry. I felt really badly for her. Elsa is a squirmy little girl and Preston just sat in his car seat and played with his feet for most of the first part of the visit.

So, here are the stats:

Preston:

Weight: 17 pounds, 9 ounces

Height: 28 inches

Head Circumferance: big head

5th percentile for height and 5th percentile for weight (on the boy chart - not adjusted for prematurity)

Elsa:

Weight: 17 pounds

Height: 27 1/2 inches

Head Circumferance: medium head

10th percentile for weight and 10th percentile for height (on the girl chart - not adjusted for prematurity)

Violet:

Weight: 17 pounds

Height: 28 inches

Head Circumferance: small head

10th percentile for weight, 25 percentile for height

The doctor was very pleased with their growth and progress and they are doing everything they are supposed to do at one year. He gave me the okay to eliminate formula which will save me $17 a day. Unfortunately the babies don't weigh enough to be forward facing in their brand new snazzy car seats I bought them so I will continue to lug around the infant seats a little while longer. At this appointment they had to get their little fingers pricked for one of the tests and Violet bled as if they had just cut her finger off. She also screamed like they just cut her finger off. Preston acted hurt and confused why this kind of torture was being inficted upon him. Elsa tried desperately to escape the kung fu hold I had on her and she almost won. It was hairy. It was stressful. It was exhausting. On the way home Kathy asked me if I had considered bringing one at a time. I said, "uh, yeah, after today I have."

The rest of the day was most pleasant as we spent it across the street at the park. Kathy and I brought all the kids and we put them on the swings and took them down the slide and found some fish swimming in the little pond and put them on the ground where they tried to eat the bark. It was such a beautiful day that it felt so good to be outside and let the sun shine on us.